Honesty in Law Enforcement

Well, this is a first for me....writing in on a discussion type panel.

My question has to do with the "honesty" issue and how it can cause so much grief for officers who are accused of not being truthful.

So here goes, why is it that City / County & State law enforcement are held to the "honesty" rule when the supposed highest law enforcement person in the coutry isn't? I mean it seems that the U.S. Attorney - Holder - has been found to be less than honest and forthcoming in his testimony yet he seems to be "above the law" that all of us are held to, that standard of being honest.

Maybe I missed some important issues, rulings that deal with his position in government. It would seem to me that if an Officer / Deputy / Trooper, etc were called to testify before some hearing where you are sworn to tell the truth and then found not to have that this would pretty much end your career with your agency. Then, good luck finding another job with another agency with the honesty issue, truthfulness clouding your background.

Replies to This Discussion

You are of course correct, all of us are (should be) held to a high ethical standard and that applies to the chief law enforcement position in the country, our Attorney General. Unfortunately, corruption can be present at any level of government and in my opinion, corruption is present at the very highest levels of our present administration. For someone who promised transparency for his administration, President Obama has been woefully lacking in requiring his AG to cooperate with Congress in several investigations. The President has even promoted this lack of cooperation by hiding behind "executive priviliage" as an excuse to keep AG Holder protected from investigation from Congress. This is downright shameful in my opinion.

Double standard? You bet. It is the reality we are faced with by having a President who is only interested in his own political survival instead of being concerned about justice and fairness.

Kevin....Thank you for responding. I am not one to go onto "online chats" etc but felt that I just needed to say something. I have been on the street for just about 44 years and have seen so many changes, some good and some more political than anything else, but what I've seen in the last few years just shocks and saddens me.

People can say all sorts of things about officers because, just like any other profession ( and I do consider law enforcement to be a PROFESSION ) there are those few that just seem to go wrong.

These incidents that have taken place like Fast and Furious...the killing of U.S. citizens in Benghazi...DHS/CBP encroaching on local law enforcement...IRS seemingly violating citizens rights...and others that I am sure have yet to make the news. A friend went to cross the U.S. / Canada border here in Washington State and he was told to leave his vehicle. When he went to pick up his cell phone he was told that he was not allowed to remove it from the vehicle. The CBP agent told him that they had to look through it.

So, I know that at my department if we, officers, did anything close to any of what has taken place at these incidents we would be into our OPA office and / or looking at being charged with some crime.

I can only hope that at the next election enough citizens with spines will vote to aim us back towards the country we used to be.

I share your frustration and your hope that the voters change direction at the next election. I am not however holding my breath. It seems the "have nots" outnumber the "haves" and they want their free stuff to continue. I hate to sound like a pessimist but my faith in the Americam voter was pretty much lost in the last election. Not sure how someone like Obama could get elected to begin with, but to get re-elected? We are in serious trouble as a nation.

I'm an old salt too. I have over 35 years on the job, plus 4 years as a cop in the USAF. Halfway to retirement!

CBP officers' border search authority is derived through 19 U.S.C. 1467 and 19 C.F.R. 162.6, which states that all persons, baggage and merchandise arriving in the CBP territory of the United States from places outside thereof are liable to inspection.

Everyone and everything are subject to inspection entering or leaving the country. It is not a new situation brought on by Holder or Obama.

I'm pretty sure if the current administration had their way, all border inspection stations would be closed, with all voter registration/identification laws cancelled.

Hi Robert, a little late getting to the emails and all but glad you had a comment. I totally agree with the "authority" of the CBP to inspect / search.....WHEN ENTERING / LEAVING the U.S. What I don't agree with, and this hasn't happened to me as I've only read the accounts from pilots and friends. What I don't feel the CBP has any right to is to actually access a persons phone. If there is a question about it being a phone, then have the owner turn it on. Otherwise I would bet that they, CBP or DHS, have no right or authority to access information in the device. There have been many instances where the TSA or some government agency has made U.S. Veterans with obvious artificial limbs, etc and small children along with the very elderly go through unneeded "searches" . So, just remember Robert if and when you are crossing a border or boarding a plane and your wife or daughter are pulled out of line and brought in for a "search" that the agent is just doing their job. As for my friend and his phone being taken and accessed, that is something that hasn't happened to him prior to this present administration.

After 26+ years in law enforcement I can tell you I have always been truthful, whether it has been best for me or not. The problem is I have seen police supervisors just lie, or as you say be less than honest with me. And I have had to sit and watched them get away with it, and it hurt my career when another agency came to do a background on me because of what they said

I had one background investigator tell me that my training file did not make sense, if I was that bad of an officer as the supervisors he spoke to said why did I go to this training or get these awards? I got that job because the background investigator saw through the lies.

After changing agencies finally I wound up at an agency that was so corrupt they actually had me arrested for fraud. After I would not sit back and watch them waste my workers comp time and disability time off doing nothing. I wrote letters to elected officials, boards, assembly persons about the waste and fraud I had found out and how the agencies workers comp carrier was violating labor law. Now I have had to spend almost all of my retirement payout on legal fee's trying to clear my name from a criminal case and an lead investigator who has "brady" issues in almost the exactly same type of case, and that case was throw out but the agency did not fire the investigator for lying, withholding evidence or threatening witnesses, another supervisor who down and out lied in the preliminary hearing and a dda who when told of these issues said, "so what, I will not call them during the trial. For what, to arrest me for something I did not do so that they could feel good, they forced me into a medical retirement and tried to extort my medical retirement in exchange for dropping the criminal charges but I held out, and even the state retirement system asked what they were doing.

So as far as being honest I can say I always have but shame on Chiefs and Sheriffs who are dishonest so that they can look good. Shame on police attorneys who defend these lairs so they can keep there positions and keep there position in the community so everybody thinks they are these wonderful administrators. What about us line officers who just wanted to do our jobs and support our families? Shame on the politicians who do nothing when corruption is brought to them and say, "it's not our job".

I am currently working on a book; "Policing; here and over there, and what they do not teach you in the police academy". This will sure raise some eyebrows when the truth comes out.